What Insurance Continuing Education Requirements Have Taught Us
Written by Laura Adams, MBA
Stay updated with industry news, learn about life as an insurance agent, and get exclusive offers on our course!
Continuing education (CE) for insurance agents is a state-mandated requirement created to protect consumers and ensure industry professionals keep up with an increasingly complex financial and regulatory landscape. It establishes a baseline of competency and ethical practices for insurance agents before they can renew their licenses.
Each state's insurance department sets the number of CE hours an agent must complete and the frequency, such as every one or two years. The course content generally focuses on insurance law updates and professional ethics, with some elective hours devoted to topics like sales skills and product knowledge.
What are the unintended consequences of insurance continuing education?
The intended outcome of CE is to encourage agents to improve their competence and professionalism. However, agents often view it as just a regulatory box to check or a drain on their time rather than a genuine learning opportunity.
Therefore, the insurance education and CE industry may prioritize convenience and speed to help agents quickly fulfill the requirement, rather than promoting its benefits for their careers. If the focus shifts from obtaining a high-quality educationPre License How Do You Spot Quality Insurance Education That Prepares You To Excel Resources to simply finding the quickest, easiest way to earn credit hours, it devalues CE courses.
While CE ensures agents get critical regulatory updates and formalizes the license renewal process, it has some adverse side effects. For instance, once a state establishes a CE requirement, it becomes primarily concerned with enforcing it rather than measuring its effectiveness. Without that data, states don't have an incentive to improve the course content or format, even when better educational models exist.
Understanding the compliance vs. competence debate
State insurance departments are highly effective at enforcing insurance licensing CE requirements. However, as previously mentioned, they don't have a direct way to measure the effectiveness of the course content.
For instance, states don't know whether an agent can apply new knowledge to their careers or solve complex client problems. They also don't know if an agent adheres to ethical standards in real-world scenarios.
Getting a passing grade on a CE course exam doesn't guarantee that an insurance agent will be more professional or ethical. The true test of competence is measured by metrics like product sales and client retention, not by a course completion certificate.
State differences in insurance continuing education
There's a wide range of CE requirementsContinuing Education Washington Insurance Continuing Education Requirements Resources across the U.S. For instance, one state might require that agents complete 12 hours annually, while a neighboring state requires 24 hours every two years.
Some states allow insurance agents to roll over excess credit hours, while others don't, revealing a fundamental disagreement on the purpose of CE requirements. Is it a hard, periodic checkpoint or a fluid minimum standard?
Some states mandate a higher percentage of law and ethics content hours, while others allow more hours for elective topics. The arbitrary nature of CE requirements can undermine the insurance industry's desired high standards.
What improves insurance agent performance
If state-mandated CE falls short, agents must look for other options to improve their competence and performancePre License What Skills Do You Need To Become An Insurance Agent Resources. One is voluntarily pursuing various professional designations, such as Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter (CPCU) or Certified Financial Planner (CFP). These programs are rigorous and time-intensive, but can significantly deepen an agent's subject matter expertise.
The CPCU designation provides a broad and deep understanding of the financial and legal aspects of property and casualty risk management. It provides expertise in commercial and personal insurance law, finances, and operations.
The CFP designation is among the most widely recognized and respected credentials in personal financial planning. It focuses on most planning topics, including insurance, retirement, taxes, and estates. CFP professionals are held to a fiduciary standard, legally and ethically obligating them to put their clients' best interests first.
However, if an agent wants to improve their performance without an additional professional designation, insurance employers, such as large carriers, typically offer training focused on sales skills, company-specific product knowledge, and compliance standards.
In addition, there are always opportunities to learn from senior agents or to participate in a mentorship program to receive personalized coaching. That can be an effective way to translate CE content into practical competence tied to real-world situationsPre License What Do Insurance Agents Do Resources.
Insurance continuing education assessment
The CE system has successfully created a program and infrastructure for agent compliance. It ensures regulatory updates are communicated to agents and offers a baseline of competency for insurance license renewal.
The future of CE will likely move toward "smart compliance" through deeper, more practical learning enabled by advanced technologies, such as artificial intelligence (AI). For instance, AI could analyze data to flag underperforming agents or identify personalized training needs based on changes in a producer's knowledge gaps or sales activity.
Transitioning to digital CE with smart compliance could close the competency gap and ensure the insurance industry can effectively advise clients on rapidly evolving risks for their personal and business lives. For agents looking to stay ahead of industry changes, setting yourself up for long-term career successPre License How Do You Set Yourself Up For Long Term Insurance Career Success Resources starts with embracing continuous learning beyond minimum requirements.
About Laura Adams
Laura Adams is an award-winning author, speaker, host of the Money GirlMoney Girl.simplecast.com podcast, and founder of The Money StackWelcome Moneygirl.substack.com newsletter. She was named one of Empower's "Top 50 Women in Personal Finance" and is a frequent source for the national media. Millions benefit from her practical financial advice on topics like insurance, real estate, retirement, and self-employment. Laura’s mission is to empower consumers to make smart money decisions. She received an MBA from the University of Florida and lives in Vero Beach, Florida.
Ready to start your insurance career?
Begin your path to becoming a licensed agent today